Bottled beverage cooler



Dec. 24, 1940. w F V055 2,226,271

BOTTLED BEVERAGE COOLER Filed June 20, 1936 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 CURRENT j c,

A Dec. 24, 1940. w F, vosE BOTTLED BEVERAGE cooLER 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed June 20, 1936 Dec. 24, 1940. E w. F. vosE 2,226,271

BOTTLED BEVERAGE COOLER Filed June 20, 1936 4 Sheets-Sheet 3 Dec. 24, 1940. w F, V055 BOTTLED BEVERAGE COOLER 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 Filed June 20, 1936 gli lIl

Patented Dec. 24, 1940 UNITED STATES PATIENT Aol-Flclaz Walter F. 'Vosc, Bloomington, Ill., assignor of sixty perl cent to Peter Karonis and B. B. Karstens, both of Bloomington. Ill.

Application June 20, 1936,` Serlal No. 86,320

6 Claims.

An object of my present invention is to provide a cooler for bottled beverages and the like which is highly eicient, yet simple in its construction and inexpensive from a manufacturing standpoint.

A further object is to provide 'a cooler for articles which are suitable to be cooled by submerging them in cold water, the cooler providing a tank -for the water and a cooling means for the water in the tank which forms ice in the form of pencils or the like, and the refrigerating mechanism being so operated that these pencils of icel are formed on the wall cf the refrigerator and then freed therefrom so that they can oat to the surface of the water, and in so doing induce a circulation in the water which effectively operates to maintain a constant temperature throughout the body of the water. A further object is to provide a cooler in which 20 articles to be cooled are submerged in col w water and refrigerating mechanism is operab e to form ice in small portions or strips, whic {[fare periodically freed from the wall of the coi/:iler and serve to prevent the bottles from freezing to the sides of the tank containing the water.

Still -a. further object is to provide a cooler having a dry compartment in which hanging ice cube trays are arranged on the side walls thereof for keeping a supply of ice cubes for use when 30 desired.

Still another object is to provide a dual type of cooler in which a dry compartment and a wet compartment are provided, which are in thermal contact with each other insteadof being insulated from each other, thus providing a portion of the cooler having a temperature which is a differential between the temperatures in the dry and wet compartments, and enabling the use of a single evaporating coil for the dry compartment and the wet compartment and a control for the refrigerating mechanism responsive to the portion of the coil extending from one compartment to the other.

A further object is to provide a wet and a dry compartment in a cooler structure so associated with a single temperature responsive device for control thereof which operates to effectively control the refrigerating mechanism for both coinpartments without any danger of too much holdance that the refrigerating mechanism is com- 55 structure in which atank has corrugations or over in the wet compartment, and with assur--l other irregular formations on its wall, an evaporator coil of a mechanical refrigerator-mechanism being arranged outside the wall and in heat transferring relation thereto by means of ice formed to entirely encase the evaporator coil n and contacting with the wall of the tank.

` Still a further object is to provide modiiied forms of ice making units which utilize evaporator coils of refrigerating mechanisms to chill water adjacent the unit and freeze it, prefer- 10 .ably in the form of strips or chunks, mechanism being provided for freeing the ice from the ice making units after the ice is formed.

A further object is to provide an ice making unit supplied with refrigerant from a refrigerating mechanism to form ice in pockets or the like of the ice making unit, a control valve being arranged so that, upon the temperature affecting it being reduced to a predetermined degree, the control will operate to permit free ilow of 2o the .refrigerant by-passing an expansion valve so as to warm up the ice making unit suillciently to free the ice from contact therewith, so that it can float to the surface of the water in which the unit is submerged to cool the water and induce a circulation thereof.

Another object is-t o provide a cooler having a tank compartment and a dry compartment, a single evaporator coil being utilized to chill both compartments, the compartments however being thermally isolated from each other.

Still a further object is to provide a cooler cabinet so constructed that the use of expensive dies is eliminated, this construction involving the use of atop rail'which can be cut in any length to thus accommodate diierent sizes of coolers andalso vertical rails if desired, in combination with a corner cover member so formed and connected with the cooler' frame that it draws the top and vertical rails into intimate contact with the frame an'd retains them neatly against any possibility of any cracks or other unsightly joints in the exterior surface of the cooler cabinet.

I With these and other objects in view, my invention consists in the construction, arrangement and combination of the various parts of the device, whereby the objects contemplated are attained, as hereinafter more fully set forth, pointed out in my claims, and illustrated in the 50 Vaccompanying drawings, in. which:

Figure 1 is a perspective view of a bottled beverage cooler embodying my invention.

Figure 2 is a longitudinal, vertical, sectional view thereof on the line 1 2 of Figure 1, a 55 portion of the inner tank, back of the water in the cooler, being shown in elevation, and the refrigerating mechanism for the cooler being shown diagrammatically.

Figure 3 is a horizontal sectional view on the line 3-3 of Figure 1.

Figure 4 is an enlarged, vertical, sectional view on the line 4-4 of Figure 3, showing how ice is formed in the form of strips and the action of the ice in being released and inducing a circulation in the water.

Figure 5 is an enlarged, sectional view on the line 5-5 of Figure 4, showing how the inner wall of the tank of the cooler may be formed, so as to prevent the formation of a solid sheet of ice on the inner wall of the tank and produce instead strips or pencils of ice.

Figure 6 is a diagrammatical view of a modified form of cooling unit for forming chunks of ice in a cooler cabinet.

Figure 7 is a side elevation of the ice forming unit shown in Figure 6 and looking in the direction of the arrow 'I thereon.

Figure 8 is a vertical, sectional view on the line 8-8 of Figure 7.'

Figure 9 is a plan view of another modified form of ice forming unit.

Figure 10 is a vertical sectional view of the same on the line IIl-I 0 of Figure 9.

Figure 11 is a diagrammatical view showing the refrgerating system for the ice forming units of Figures 6, 7, 8, 9 and 10.

Figure 12 is a sectional view through a control valve used in connection with the system shown in Figure 11.

Figure 13 is an enlarged sectional View through the upper rail of the refrigerator as taken on the line I3E3 of Figure 1.

Figure 14 is a detail, side elevation of an upper corner of the cooler.

Figure 15 is a perspective view of the ends of two of the top rails of the cooler and a corner cover member therefor.

Figure 16 is a similar view showing the parts of Figure 15 assembled together.

Figure 17 is a View similar to Figure 16 showing a modied construction.

Figure 18 is a sectional view on the line I8-I8 of Figure 14, showing how the corner cover member cooperates with the top rails during assembly of the cooler; and v Figure 19 is a sectional view on the line I8I8 of Figure 17, showing the corner cover member drawn into place.

On the accompanying drawings I have shown in Figures 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5 a cooler having a dry compartment I0 and a bottled beverage compartment I2. The compartment I0 is formed by a bottom wall I4 and side walls I6, the side walls I 6 being surrounded by a refrigerant coil I8. Outside the refrigerant coil I8 side walls 20 are provided, which are suitably insulated against heat transfer by means of insulation 22. y'Ihe bottom I4 is likewise insulated by insulating material 24. 1

The bottled beverage compartment I2 comprises a tank having a bottom 26, end walls 28 and side walls 30. Spaced inwardly from the walls 28 and 30 are corrugated end walls 82 and corrugated side walls 34. The walls 22 and 34 may be termed false walls. The corrugations of these walls, indicated at 36, extend only partially throughout the height of the wall as shown at the left side of Figure 2.

A second refrigerant coil 38 is positioned between the outer end and side walls 28 and 88 and the inner end and side walls 22 and 84. This coil may be an extension of the coil I8, and has a return end connected with a refrigerant compressor 48. The compressor 48 is driven by an electric motor 42 and the usual condenser coil, liquid tank or receiver and expansion valve for the refrigerating mechanism are indicated at 48, 44 and 52 respectively. The motor 42 is preferably automatically controlled, as for instance. by a switch 48 responsive to temperature through the medium of a capillary bulb 46 and a bellows 48 in the usual manner. The capillary bulb 46 is preferably in thermal contact with the portion of the evaporator coiltubing extending from the coil I8 to the coil 88.

In Figures 6 and 'I I show a. modiiied construction which may be termed an "ice forming unit `and in which the evaporator coil is indicated at 50, and the usuall expansion valve at 52. 'I'he coil 50,.as shown in Figure 7, is arranged in a zig zag formation and is covered with a member A provided with pockets 5I to determine the shape of the ice blocks |28 formed in the ice forming unit. 'I'he pockets Il are tapered outwardly to permit ready freeing of the ice as will hereinafter be disclosed. The cover member A is preferably provided with end members 56 which seal oir the spaces 58 from the surrounding water 60, so that the spaces 88 constitute air spaces.

I In Figures 9 and 10 I show another modied construction in which a pair of castings 62 and 64, when associated together as' illustrated, form an evaporator unit, the casting 84 having pockets 66 also tapered outwardly in which chunks of ice I 28 are adapted to form.

A tank 10 is connected with the evaporator unit comprising the castings 62 and 64and is adapted to contain water |80. I have not illustrated any insulating wall for the cooler shown in Figure 10, hut it is, of course, understood that such is provided to gain all the eiiiciency possible.

For operating the ice forming units shown in Figures 6 and 10 I provide the refrigerating system shown in Figure 11, parts of which are similar to the one shown in Figure 2, and therefore provided with the same reference numerals. The

evaporator coil however is indicated at 50. The refrigerant chamber 63 of Figure 10 is the equivalent of the coil\50.

A control valve B is illustrated which by-passes the expansion valve 52 and is a normally closed valve which opens due to a predetermined reduction in temperature. For illustrative purposes a bellows 1B is connected with a capillary bulb 'I8 at the return end of the coil 50 (see Fig. 11) The operation of this valve will hereinafter appear under the heading of practical operation.

In connection with the construction of my cooler system certain problems were encountered, especially in connection with making the outer shell in an economical manner without the expense of building large expensive dies for forming the outer shell. As shown in Figure 13 there is an outer sheet metal cover 8D surrounding the insulation 22, this cover being put on in the form of iiat sheets, as illustrated in Figure 3, having rounded corner strips 82 and top rails 84. The cross sectional details are all shown in Figures 13, 18 and 19 but omitted Vfrom Figures 2 and 3 wherein the scale of the drawing is too small to permit such details to show clearly.

Neatly joining the ends of the top rails 84 and the vertical rails 82 cannot be economically done with welding, brazing or the like, and I have provided a corner cover member C which covers the joints and yet holds the rails 82 and 84 all nrmly in contact with the frame of the cooler with the use of but a single screw 88.

'I'he corner cover member C has a downwardly extending nange 88 and a pair of laterally extending flanges 88. These, as shown in Figures 18 and 19 are initially formed to extend at a slight angle inwardly so that their edges contact with the l0 rails 82 and 84, and when the screw 88 is tightened, as in Figure 13, they effectively bind against the rails to permanently retain them in position without possibility of any'open spaces between the edges of the cover C and the rails 82 and 84. With this construction it is possible to form the rails in any length on one pair of dies or rollers, and the cover member C on another pair of dies, which need not be large. yet by cutting the rails to the desired lengths, the construction is adapt- 20 able to all sizes of cooler cabinet constructions. A further feature enhancing the appearance of the construction is in the use of flanges 82 von the top rails 84, and small flanges 84 on the corner cover member C which hook over the ilanges 82 to position the parts 84 and C relative to each other. If desired, the rail 82 and the corner cover member C can be combined in a single piece 83 shown in Figure `1'?.

'I'he frame of the cooler includes a water tank sin ss (see Figure 13) and s. top 4rail sin as.

sill 98 is suitably stepped for the edges of the sliding lids |80, |82 and I 84, which lids are preferably formed of insulating material. Metal liners |06 are provided for the edges of the lids to slide on, and these have flanges |88 at their outer edges. These flanges, as well as the flanges 92 of the top rails 84, arellocated in grooves IIIi of the sill 88. Interposed between .the flanges 82 and I 88 are strips I I2 of rubber or the like servingv 4 the purpose of insulating breaker strips to prevent transmission of heat from the top vrails 84 through the sheet metal liners |86 to the interior of the cooler. I

Practical operation In the operation of the cooler shownin Figures 1 to 5, the switch 45 is so set that the refrigerant compressor 48 will continue to operate until pencils of ice II4 are formed, as in Figures 4 and 5. 50 At first small bumps of ice, indicated by dotted lines at IIS, are formed and these gradually thicken until the pencils II4 are the result. Be-

A fore the pencils I I 4 form,.however, the water surrounding the evaporator coil 38 will freeze, first 55 as indicated at II'| and then as indicated at II8, which serves as a solid medium between the coil 38 and the corrugated portions 38 of the walls 32 and 84' to increase the elciency to the maximum. The water in the space surrounding the coil 38 will Vbe at substantially the same level-as the water within the cooler and indicated at |20, since the walls 32 and. are not sealed along their lower edges to the bottom wall 28 but merely rest 'IB dicated at II4c, which can freely circulate among The the bottles of beverage |22 shown in Figure 2. The bottles are preferably placed. in crates |24 which are sufllciently large to hold a dozen bottles and are provided with handles |28 for lifting them out of the water.|28. y 5

In loosening from the walls and rising to the surface of thewater |28, the pencils of ice II4 induce Aa circulation in the water (see arrows a inFigure 4) ywhich tends tokeep the entire body of water at substantially the same temperature l0 without the necessity of providing any other means for this purpose.

By making the walls 82 and 24 of corrugated shape, thepencils II4 are isolated from each other by the peaks of the corrugations, although 15 it is obvious that other shapes and\diiferent shapes of corrugations than those illustrated can be used for accomplishing the same purpose.

With'vthe use of the coils Il and 28. which are actually a single coil arranged as illustrated, I 20 vam able to eilectively cool the compartment I8 tween the corrugations of the member A in Fig- 30 ure 6 and in the pockets 88 of Figure l0, as indicated at |28. After the chunks of ice |28 are formed, it is obvious that a warmer liquid flowing through the coil 58 and the space 82 respectively will soon melt the chunks of ice loose so 35 that they rise, as indicated at I28a, and finally float on the surface of the water |88, as indicated at I28b. v

It is also obvious that freeing of the chunks or cakes of ice can be accomplished quickly with n very little rise in temperature of the coil 58 and the space 63. This is accomplished by the control valve B in Figures l1 and 12, which, upon the coil 50 becoming excessively low in temperature adjacent the bulb 18 'due to the ice |28 hav- 45 ing formed, is opened so that the refrigerant is pumped directly from the receiver 44 through the coil 50 without expanding through the valve 52. The refrigerant will therefore be relatively warmer, and in flowing through thezcoil 50 will 50 warm it so that the cakes of ice |28 are loosened and will accordingly float to the surface of the water. 'Ihis operation may take anywhere from 5 to 1o minutes. 1 l

As soon .as the warm refrigerant affects the bulb.18, however, the valve Bwill be closed, so that thereafter normal refrigeration takesplace with the refrigerant passing through the expansion valve 52.

The motor 42 in Figure 11 can be controlled 60 by a control switch such as the one indicated at`45 in Figure 2 to prevent excessive operation of the refrigerating mechanism when not needed, the valve B operating independently to free the cakes of ice |28 whenever they have formed 65 in suflicient size to be practical for use.

As the cakes |28 float up through the water, they, of course, induce a circulation which, as heretofore explained, is desirable. The pockets 84, of course, may be of any shape desired. I have shown them as being square, but it is obvious that they can be round, star shape, or any vshape which might suit the fancy of the designer.

In connection with the dry compartment I8 75 as shown in Figures 2 and 3, if it is desirable to form ice cubes, an ice tray |30 can be hung along one or more sides of the'compartment in a vertical position. iiatwise against the wall there- 5 of. 'I'hese trays, as illustrated in cross section in Figure 2, are relatively flat horizontally and tapered so that after they are formed full of ice, the ice can be readily removed by running enough water over the tray to loosen the ice.4

For supporting the trays |30 any suitable i means may be provided, such for instance as hooks |32 adapted to hook in slots I of the side wall. 'I'his arrangement provides a convenient means for making slabs of ice without appropriating a prohibitive amount of the space within the compartment I0. After the slabs of ice are removed from the trays I, they can be broken into cubes with an ice pick or the like.

Some changes may be madein the construction and arrangement of the parts of my device without departing from the real spirit and purpose of my invention, and it is my intention to cover by my claims any modiedforms of structure or use of mechanical equivalents which may be reasonably included within their scope.

I claim as my invention:

1. In a bottled beverage cooler, a container, water therein, an inner wall within said container, refrigerating mechanism having an evaporator coil surrounding said inner wall and means for controlling said refrigerating mechanism to cyclically form ice on said inner wall and then melt such ice free of the inner wall whereupon it floats to the surface of said water.

2. In a bottled beverage cooler, a container, a false wall therein and spaced therefrom, said false wall having pocket-like depressions, water in said container on bothsides of said false wall, refrigerating mechanism having an evaporator coil in 40 contact with said pockets, ice bridging the space between said evaporator coil and pockets and means for controlling said refrigerating mechanism to cyclically form ice on the opposite side of said false wall and in said pockets and then` 45 melt such ice free of such pockets whereupon it floats on the surface of the water.

3. In a cooler, a dry compartment, a wet compartment, a. portion of one compartment being in thermal contact with a portion of the other com- 50 partment, water in said wet compartment, refrigerating mechanism including an evaporator coil expansion valve.

' having a first portion for cooling said dry compartment and a second portion for cooling said wet compartment and a controller for said refrigerating having a temperature responsive element responsive to the temperature of the evaporator coil between said portions thereof.

4. In a cooler of the character disclosed, atank, water therein and an ice forming unit submerged in the water, said ice forming unit comprising a member having pockets tapered outwardly, an evaporator eway within said unit for refrigerant,v refrigerating mechanism for pumping' refrigerant through said passageway, said refrigerating mechanismrincluding an expansion valve and a control mechanism comprising a temperature responsive valve responsive to a relatively low temperature of said ice forming unit to open and permit refrigerant to by-pass said expansion valve and to a relatively high tempera ture` of said ice forming unit to close and thereby permit the refrigerant to ilow only through the expansion valve.

5. In a bottled beverage cooler, a container,

water therein, a false wall within the container in contact with the water and spaced from the `wall of the container, refrigerating mechanism having an evaporator coil between said false wall and the wall of the container and means for controlling said refrigerating mechanism to cyclically form ice on said false wall at spaced points only and then melt such ice free thereof whereupon it floats inthe water and induces a circulation in the water.

6. In a cooler of the character disclosed, an ice forming unit comprising a member having a wall against which ice may be formed, an evaporator passageway in thermal contact with said wall, refrigerating mechanism for pumping refrigerant through said passageway, said refrigerating mechanism including an expansion valve and a control mechanism comprising a temperature responsive valve responsiveto a relatively low temperature of said ice forming unit to open and permit refrigerant to by-pass said expansion Avalve and to a relatively high temperature of said ice forming unit to close and therebyI permit the refrigerant to ilow only through the WALTER F. VOSE. 

